Words by Christina Huntington // Photography by Sarah Prikryl // Graphic Design by Alex Rice
As 2018 continues to unfold, a literal new day is dawning before us. Over the course of human history, most civilizations and wisdom traditions developed ways to measure the fluctuating cycles of time and the unique energy held within each year, giving people tools and insights to best utilize those energies to help them on their own path. Most forms of astrology break up eras according to the twelve signs of the zodiac and their corresponding cosmic constellations. The Chinese Zodiac divides years according to twelve animals along with a corresponding element (fire, wood, water, metal, earth). Numerology assigns every year a number from 1-9, each with its own universal energetic property, derived by adding together the numbers in the year until it reduces down to a single digit. Tarot utilizes the roman numerical Major Arcana cards to distinguish the universal stages of the hero’s journey held within each new year.
So, why is any of this important? Because we can harness these annual inherent energies for our greatest good, like going with the current of water. Think of it like swimming in a river. The water is there all around us, carrying us along its path whether we are aware of it or not. If you do nothing, the river will still keep heading in its natural direction. But if you know which way the current is running, you can use its momentum to carry you even further ahead with far greater ease if you consciously swim with the flow instead of against it. And if we take into account what ALL of these wisdom traditions are predicting for 2018, it looks like we’re in for one helluva year…
Before we can plan where we’re going though, it’s important to look back at where we’ve just been. We’re coming off of a “1 Year” in numerology (2+0+1+7 = 10 = 1) and a “Magician/ I” year in the Tarot. Which means 2017 was all about starting over on an entirely new nine-year-long cycle, right back at step one. For many people, this materialized as a year of endings, completions, letting go and new beginnings. It was a year of innovation, new ideas, new paths and lots of experimentation. It was all about DOING—trying lots of new things, following new interests, taking action and drawing upon our innate internal masculine “yang” energy to figure out what resources we had at our disposal to create these new dreams and realities with. It was a year of individuation—claiming your own self, your own path, your own desires based on who you are NOW (not whoever you were before) and venturing out boldly in new directions accordingly. As a Chinese Fire Rooster year, it was also about setting ‘boundaries! boundaries! boundaries!’, allowing your heart to guide you in considering new long-term goals for yourself in relation to the greater good as you started out onto your latest nine-year-long journey.
2018 can be considered a “2 Year” (2+0+1+8 = 11 = 2). However, because the number 11 is a Master Number (double digits of the same number), it takes a higher priority as an “11 Year”. So the energies of both “2” and “11” are applicable this year. Luckily, these energies are very complimentary, with 11 beautifully amplifying the innate energies of the 2. After a year of intense activity, the “2 Year” asks you to slow down a bit and get more Purpose-full in your actions. Check in with yourself to see where your true priorities lie now. Which seeds do you want to continue to water and cultivate to bring into blossoming fruition? Which crops do you need to let go of for the time being? Prioritizing is key this year, getting clear on what you want to be investing your time, energy and precious self into. Which of your goals are in full alignment with the real truth of who you are and what you want for your life?
The “11 Year” aspect will help you find these answers because an 11 year is all about MASTERY. Self-Mastery to be exact. Building on your newfound individuation while you learn to consult, trust and rely on your own intuition and inner voice as your guide, your personal North Star pointing you in the right direction. You are asked to be courageous with your talents this year—bravely sharing your most authentic self and your gifts with the world. It is a time of deep transformation and healing, integrating and balancing your light and dark aspects, shedding all that no longer serves you while beginning to embody the highest vision of your self and your life.
Relationships will also be key this year, as both 2 and 11 (double 1’s side-by-side) are about partnership. The lessons here are about HEALTHY partnership though. Partnership in balance, where all those involved are coming together whole and complete in themselves, standing on their own secure footing instead of collapsing onto each other in co-dependent entanglement. Instead of, “I NEED to be with you to feel happy/ give my life meaning/ make me feel loved and wanted”, healthy partnership says, “I am perfectly happy and secure in myself and my own life. I love myself unconditionally. And I CHOOSE to be with you because you add more of these wonderful experiences and ways of being to my already full life. We give and receive freely, honoring both our individual and collective goals in equal measure.” Khalil Gibran said it beautifully, “Let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.”
2018 has a very strong innate feminine aspect at its core, with influence from both the “High Priestess (II)” and “Justice (XI)” cards in the tarot. While last year was all about the masculine “doing” energy within each of us, this year we are each asked to tap into our “being” energy, our feminine “yin” aspect of receptivity. This is what the High Priestess element has to teach us. Practically speaking, it means filtering everything through the lens of your intuition and inner wisdom. Going inward and consulting your own inner compass before taking action or making decisions. This will help to guide you in that very important prioritization process. Your heart and soul already know what they want for you. All you need to do is START ASKING. With Justice as the overseeing element, you need to make sure that you are operating from your highest integrity with all of your choices, behavior and actions. In this year, you literally reap what you sow, with the scales of Justice measuring your motivations and true intentions. So be sure to sow consciously.
Integrity is also the main theme for 2018’s Year of the Wood Dog, according to Chinese astrology. Honoring your word, doing what you said you would do, operating from your core values and cultivating loyalty and unconditional love are key elements. In a Year of the Dog, you work hard on purposeful focused goals but you also need to remember to play. Home and family become a major focus point this year: how have you set up your Home? Do you feel at Home with your family, friends, in your own company? What is the love that you currently bring to your Homestead? How can you cultivate more love in the relationships that matter most to you, including the one with yourself?
To help you drop into the flow of this year, take a moment to either journal or meditate on these seven questions~
- What are my true priorities this year? Make a list or bring to mind the things you have been telling yourself to focus on for 2018. Sit with each one and see how it FEELS in your body when you think of it. Does it feel like a “Hell yes!”, a “not so much” or a “Hell no!”. Write down your list of “Hell yes” goals and focus on those for the rest of the year. That’s where your soul wants you to go.
- What shadow aspects of myself have been showing up in my life lately? (Your shadow materializes as negative, destructive or addictive patterns of thinking, behaving or believing that block you in the important areas of your life.) How can I give the shadow parts of myself the care and attention they are asking for? How can I help integrate, heal and come into balance with my light and dark aspects this year? What are 3 real actions I can take to do this, beginning this week?
- What are my unique gifts that I am being asked to share with the world? How do I feel about letting myself be fully seen and visible? What is the positive impact that my gifts can bring to those around me? What are ways to share my gifts that feel exciting and inspiring to me?
- Are there any places where I am out of integrity in my life right now? How can I bring my words and actions into better alignment this year?
- What are my core values? What do I want to stand for in life? Am I operating in alignment with my core values?
- What do I want my “Home” to feel like? How can I cultivate more love in my closest relationships and at Home inside myself?
- From my Deep Heart and from my Deep Soul, what do I most want to CREATE for myself and my life this year? How do I want to feel, what do I want to experience, who do I want to become by the end of 2018?
Dive on into the beautiful energies of 2018 and let the river carry you to the life of your wildest dreams!
HAPPY DREAMING & CREATING!! xoxo, Sirens & Scoundrels
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© 2018 Sirens and Scoundrels
Sirens & Scoundrels 